


look past the blinding light

by glownary



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: ...kind of, Afterlife, Alternate Universe - Afterlife, Canonical Character Death, Food, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Kokichi Ouma Month, M/M, Melancholy, Mentions of Blood, Other Characters Are Mentioned, Past Character Death, Post-Canon, Post-New Dangan Ronpa V3, mentions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:08:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24627571
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glownary/pseuds/glownary
Summary: The afterlife is an unusual place, but hey, at least they're together?(Ouma Month day 3 prompt:angel/demon AUafterlife.)
Relationships: Momota Kaito/Oma Kokichi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82
Collections: Kokichi Ouma Month





	look past the blinding light

**Author's Note:**

> i know the prompt was supposed to be angel/demon AU but... bear with me

"Momota-chan, what are you doing? We're gonna miss the show!"

Kaito continued to stare at Kokichi with wide eyes, not moving from where he stood. "I… what the fuck are you talking about?" No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't wrench his gaze away from the open wound on Kokichi's bare arm. It was covered in blood, looking exactly the way he remembered it; but despite the fact that nothing was covering it, it wasn't actively bleeding. "We're dead." He stated it plainly, his tone flat and empty.

Kokichi just rolled his eyes and grabbed onto Kaito's arm, physically pulling him towards a large building. Their surroundings were unusual, to say the least—some buildings seemed to phase in and out of existence, while others swayed back and forth. "Very astute observation. What gave it away?" he teased. "I've been dead longer so I have a better idea of what's going on. Just trust me again, okay?"

"...Okay," Kaito answered. He followed along obediently, though he shuddered at the change in view—with Kokichi now in front of him, he had a clear view of the much nastier wound in the center of Kokichi's back. A part of him wanted to ask if it hurt, but he wasn't sure he was ready to hear the answer.

As they approached the wide glass doors of the building, Kokichi turned back to face him. "I saved us seats," he said with a smile. "Right in the middle, too."

Kaito still wasn't sure what that meant, but Kokichi slipped into the building before he could ask about it. He followed him inside and narrowed his eyes in confusion at the sight of the building's interior. The room they had stepped into was clearly the lobby of a movie theater. It looked clean, and the electricity was clearly running, but it was eerily empty other than the two of them. Curiously, Kaito noticed that there didn't appear to be a place to buy tickets—just snacks.

Kokichi skipped over to the concession counter and swiftly hopped over it. "It's self-checkout," he announced before rummaging through the candy on display. Kaito approached slowly, watching him but making no move to join him. "What's your favorite movie snack, Momota-chan?"

He thought about that for a moment. He didn't really care about snacks—he wasn't even hungry—and he'd much rather get answers about what was going on. But… 

Kokichi was pleading with his eyes for him to just go along with it. And Kaito had promised to trust him.

"I like the little cookie dough balls that are covered in chocolate."

Kokichi smiled at him, clearly pleased. He reached down and grabbed two boxes of the candy, then handed it over. "On the house," he said with a wink.

After getting some Sour Patch Kids for himself, Kokichi picked out the largest bucket size and filled it to the brim with popcorn. He placed it on the counter for a second while he hopped back to the other side, then picked it back up to coat the popcorn in butter. "Can you get the drinks? My hands are full."

"Uh, sure." Kaito shoved his candy boxes into his jacket pocket, then grabbed two large cups and made his way over to the drink machines. He got himself a Dr. Pepper and glanced back to Kokichi. 

"Grape Fanta."

Nodding, Kaito filled up the second cup and supplied both with lids and straws.

"This way!" Kokichi called out, strolling into theater one without hesitation. Kaito followed, unsure how Kokichi knew where to go—or why they wanted to go to a theater in the first place. 

He was surprised to find that there were others already sitting in the theater—and even more surprised to find that he recognized them. Kaede seemed to be the only one who noticed their entrance; she gave him a sad smile and a small wave, then returned her attention to the screen. Kaito looked up as well, his blood running cold at the sight of the "movie." Shuuichi was on-screen, passionately declaring that they should hold one final trial. 

"Psst, c'mon!" Kokichi hissed under his breath. Kaito snapped back to attention and followed him to their seats. He had told the truth—the seats he saved were smack in the middle of the theater. 

Kaito gulped. By "saving them," Kokichi meant he had draped Kaito's jacket over them. There was still a bloody hole in the sleeve.

"Good, it looks like we made it before the trial," Kokichi whispered as he plopped into one of the seats. He didn't bother moving Kaito's jacket first. Glancing at his own arm, Kaito realized that they were each dressed as they had been when they died—Kokichi was shirtless and had the jacket that had been crushed with him. Kaito had the replacement jacket Kokichi had prepared for him ahead of time.

"Sit down, jackass, you're blocking Amami-chan's view."

Glancing behind him, sure enough, Kaito saw Rantarou a few rows back. The other man waved at him like Kaede had, and he gave a half-hearted wave back before taking his seat.

The unnatural glow of the screen made Kaito's head swim. Shuuichi was right there, living, breathing, but untouchable and so very far away—the realization that the image came from the light of a projector over his head only making the whole situation feel more foreign to him. 

Up on the screen, Shuuichi exchanged words with Himiko, Maki, and Tsumugi in front of the fountain. Kaito almost felt sick at the way the "camera" panned in; it was so clearly like watching a movie and nothing like being there in person. Shuuichi glanced at Kiibo, then made his way to the elevator without trying to speak to him. 

"Popcorn?" Kokichi offered, holding the bucket out to Kaito. Kaito just shook his head, and Kokichi shrugged. "Suit yourself."

The group took the elevator down to the trial room in silence. "Ouma, please, I…" Kaito took a deep breath and tried again. "I don't understand."

Kokichi was quiet for a moment. When the elevator door opened, he sighed. "Do you remember when I asked you what you thought happens after you die? In the hangar?"

"Yes," Kaito answered immediately. He remembered every little thing they said in the hangar—including the embarrassing secrets they'd shared in their desperation to connect with just one person before the end. His face flushed slightly. "You asked me whether I believed in heaven and hell, and angels and demons." 

"Mhm." Kokichi picked up a handful of popcorn. "Well, this is what happens when you die. No heaven, no hell, no angels, no demons. Just movie theaters filled with the past, present, and future of the living world." He tossed the popcorn into his mouth.

Kaito didn't know what to say, or how to feel about that. He mostly just felt numb. They watched in silence for a long while until Kokichi suddenly grabbed his hand. Whipping to face him, Kaito found that Kokichi was even paler than usual, staring in abject horror at the screen. Kaito's brow furrowed in confusion; nothing that was happening seemed to warrant that reaction—

"It's Shirogane."

"What?" Shuuichi was trying to figure out if the mastermind was among them, but he hadn't accused anyone yet. All he knew for sure was that it was the mastermind who had killed Rantarou, not Kaede.

"It's Shirogane," Kokichi repeated. 

"How do you know?"

"She's the only one that didn't have a solid alibi in the first trial. She was alone in the girl's bathroom—and there's a secret passageway from the girl's bathroom to the mastermind's room." Kokichi's grip on Kaito's hand grew tighter as he curled in on himself. "I suspected her," he whispered. "I suspected everyone, but I suspected her in particular, towards the end. But I didn't have any proof. It was just a gut feeling." He turned his head to rest on his knees, face towards Kaito. "I guess you were onto something when you said that you always trust your gut, huh, Momota-chan?"

"Ouma."

"I should've killed her when I had the chance."

"Ouma—"

"But we both know I couldn't have. Not with my own hands, at least. Not without manipulating someone else into doing the dirty work."

Kaito took a deep breath and squeezed Kokichi's hand, trying to give all the reassurance he could muster. "You couldn't have known—"

"I _should_ have," Kokichi hissed. "Did you ever notice that she didn't feel like a real person? That she only spoke as much as she had to, to seem real? The way she pushed herself into the background?" He laughed under his breath. "She's faker than I was!"

Kaito hesitated. God, how could he even respond to that? He looked back up to the screen. "...Shuuichi will take her down—"

"Are you kidding me? You don't actually believe that, do you? You saw him in the fifth trial firsthand." Kokichi glared up at the screen. "Saihara-chan would sooner fling himself into his grave than defeat the mastermind. That'll be an awkward reunion for me—not as awkward as Harukawa-chan, though." 

More than anything, Kaito wanted to believe in others the way he had when he was alive. But he _had_ seen Shuuichi during the fifth trial—the way he suggested so casually that he was willing to kill himself and everyone else just to kill Kokichi. Witnessing it firsthand—but being unable to say anything because of his act, and because he was running out of time—had been agonizing. Frustrated, Kaito practically growled under his breath. "Maybe they _will_ lose. Maybe they'll all die at the end of this trial. So what?" He stared at Kokichi with fire in his eyes. "Are you gonna blame yourself for not killing Shirogane forever?" Quietly, he added, "You made mistakes, and fucked up choices. I did, too. But not being omnipotent isn't one of them."

Kokichi stared at him with wide eyes. "You've changed, Momota-chan." Before he could respond, Kokichi squeezed his hand in return. "You're right, though. And… I'm not even sure why we're bothering to watch. It's not like it matters anymore." He shrugged lightly. "Nothing better to do, I guess."

Kaito continued to look at him for a minute, then they both continued to watch, hand in hand.

Soon enough, Shuuichi figured out that Tsumugi was the mastermind. Ahead somewhere, Kaito could hear Miu call out "I knew it, that fuckin'—" before someone else urged her to be quiet. Everything changed once Tsumugi revealed herself. She made an instant transformation into cosplay of a character Kaito didn't recognize. Everything she said was bizarre, and Kaito wasn't sure how much of it he believed. If it was a show they signed up for, he certainly didn't remember it, even in death.

Just like he had suggested in the fifth trial, Shuuichi formed a suicide pact with the others. Kaito felt a knot form in the pit of his stomach—it was harsh enough when he felt useless to stop it in life, but now he was forced to watch it be carried out. He wanted to reach through the screen and shake him, to scream in his face that there was always another way, but instead he settled for the small comfort of squeezing Kokichi's hand again and sinking into his seat.

"I don't want to speak to any of them," Kokichi admitted.

Kaito made a noncommittal sound in response. He wasn't sure what he wanted.

Tsumugi was crushed to death and Kiibo blew himself up, taking the dome along with him. Kaito braced himself to see the others' deaths as well, but they never came. Shuuichi, Maki, and Himiko pulled each other up from the rubble. They stared out into the world with hope in their eyes.

Kaito felt empty.

Suddenly, the screen went dark. Kaito sat up straight in surprise as the lights came on. 

"Show's over. If we wanna watch what happens to the three of them next, we've gotta find the right theater." Kokichi made no move to get up from his seat even as everyone else began to file out.

Kaito took notice of the people sitting in the rows ahead of them—Tenko, Miu, and Angie—as they stood up and passed by them on their way out. "What do we do now?"

Kokichi shrugged. "Watch them, or watch our happiest memories, or watch our biggest regrets, or…" he trailed off.

"That's it? We just sit and watch things forever?"

His eyes dull, Kokichi simply nodded. 

"That's bullshit," he said, raising his voice. "That can't be it."

"If there's more to this place, I haven't found it." 

"There's you," Kaito told him. He squeezed Kokichi's hand once more; though whether it was for Kokichi's benefit or his own, he was unsure. "And the others. We can… we can talk to each other. And we can look for more things to do." The others were all gone already, leaving the two of them alone in the theater. He moved to stand but Kokichi pulled him back down with a wistful smile.

"Okay," he said. "Okay. We can do that. But we have all of eternity for it. For now, will you…" he hesitated, then moved their hands to interlock their fingers together. "Will you sit here with me like this for a little bit?"

Kokichi's eyes were glassy enough that Kaito could see his reflection in them. "...Okay," he told him quietly. 

They sat together in the empty theater for some time; not that time held any meaning to them in death. Neither of them wanted to admit they were afraid that this was all there was, and all there would ever be. But for just a little while, at least, they found peace with each other.

**Author's Note:**

> this one was inspired by the movie theater from the dr3 anime! title is a lyric from "cigarettes in the theatre" by two door cinema club


End file.
